Music Spotlight: Mendelssohn's Elijah
Felix Mendelssohn’s monumental oratorio Elijah tells of the life, tenacity, and wisdom of the Old Testament prophet, as told largely in the Book of Kings, combined with other biblical texts. Drawn to the dramatic potential of depicting the prophet’s extraordinary life, Mendelssohn sought to capture the profound transformation of faith—from idol worship to the reverence of one true God.
In the first part of the work, the narrative highlights the cultural and political forces shaping Elijah’s world, while the second part explores the prophet’s inner struggles and humanity. The epic aria, “It is enough,” (“Es ist genug”) captures the moment when Elijah thinks he can withstand no more, and the prophet implores God to end his suffering. The aria is modeled after Bach’s “Es ist Vollbracht” from St. John’s Passion, a work that Mendelssohn rescued from relative obscurity when he presented it in Leipzig at the age of 20.
Having experienced success with his 1836 oratorio St. Paul, Mendelssohn was eager to explore an Old Testament topic. In 1838 the composer approached Julius Schubring, a Lutheran minister, family friend, and author of the text for St. Paul, to prepare a libretto on the prophet Elijah. The two men, however, disagreed on the approach. Mendelssohn wanted to emphasize the dramatic content of the story, whereas Schubring saw the oratorio as a kind of moral musical sermon. With the two men unable to reach an agreement, the project dropped.
A commission in 1845 from the Birmingham Triennial Musical Festival committee, looking for a new oratorio for the following season’s festival, offered the incentive Mendelssohn needed to resume the abandoned project. This time, Mendelssohn wrote the libretto himself—in German—enlisting Schubring’s help in selecting biblical texts. Mendelssohn engaged his friend William Bartholomew to prepare the English translation, and worked closely with him, fine-tuning the exact wording and adjusting the music to conform to the English text.
Mendelssohn worked feverishly on the score, completing it just two weeks before the scheduled premiere. After frenzied rehearsals, Eljah opened at Birmingham Town Hall on August 26, 1846 to an ecstatic reception, with the composer himself conducting. Despite its success, the ever critical and perfectionist Mendelssohn immediately began a series of revisions. Subsequent performances in London and in Germany further cemented the oratorio’s legacy.
Tragically, Elijah would be Mendelssohn’s final large-scale work. Overwhelmed by an exacting concert schedule, the demands of perfecting the score for publication, and the deep sorrow following the loss of his beloved sister Fanny, Mendelssohn suffered a series of strokes and died on November 4, 1847, at the age of 38.
EXTRA CREDIT READING: The Birmingham Triennial Musical Festival, founded in 1784 to raise funds for a local hospital, became an important showcase of contemporary music talent. Organizers regularly commissioned a new oratorio to be performed at the three-day event. In 1837, the festival invited 28-year-old Felix Mendelssohn to conduct a performance of his St. Paul oratorio. The success enjoyed by the oratorio at the festival provided Mendelssohn with a commission for yet another oratorio, a work with which the composer would cement his place in music history – Elijah. The last festival, held in 1912, ran at a loss.
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